Reusable block: Add a persistent menu link to view/edit Reusable blocks

[inaikem]

Request

Add a dedicated, persistent Reusable block navigation item in WP Admin and Calypso. Point this to the respective Reusable blocks view/edit screens.

This would allow users to to allow users to:

1. Quickly gain an overview of all Reusable blocks on their site via a dedicated menu link.
2. Quickly manage duplicates, edits.
3. If implemented in a tag/category view format, users could also see which posts/pages (or blocks) use each Reusable block at-a-glance.

 

What

Users are currently able to access a list of Reusable blocks in WP Admin and Calypso via links such as these:

• WP Admin: https://DOMAIN_NAME.COM/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=wp_block
• Calypso: https://wordpress.com/types/wp_block/DOMAIN_NAME.COM

  Both pages are only accessible in the UI via Right-click > Manage Reusable blocks.

I am proposing the addition of a dedicated menu link to these existing screens.

Considering WP Admin / Nav Unification specifically, the item could exist under it's own "Reusable blocks" main menu item, or as a sub-menu item to "Posts".

A similar item could be added to Calypso's "Site" group (Nav Unification notwithstanding).

Examples:

[getdave]

@inaikem Can you confirm whether this is a regression? I'm able to access Resuable blocks via

/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=wp_block on my site. Under what conditions were you not able to do this?

If this needs to be escalated urgently please ping me in #nav-unification on Slack.

[inaikem]

Hi Dave. I think there might be some misunderstanding, I said "able to access" not "unable" above! If that's unclear please let me know and I'll rephrase the ask - this is a feature request not a bug report (for now, at least! 🙏)

[mrfoxtalbot]

I came in to request this exact feature. Currently, reusable blocks can be accessed via the inserter and the editor options, but the two methods require several clicks to get there and are rather unlikely to be discovered by the average user.

This would need to be addressed in core, though. I looked it up and there is a related issue in core being discussed here https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13390

I am tagging this as "core fix needed" and cross-referencing it.

[aleone89]

Another request to add this to the menu reported here: https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/reusable-blocks-6/

[Copons]

I agree with basically everyone else: this should be addressed in Core. Possibly the most appropriate way would be to update the wp_block CPT's show_in_menu setting.

Although, I can foresee a few sources of discussion in proposing this to the outer community.

• Where should we show the menu item? show_in_menu can be set as true to display a top-level menu (such as Posts, Pages), or a string targeting a top level menu (e.g. 'themes.php', see Appearance -> Navigation Menus). Are Reusable Blocks worthy of a top level menu? Should we tuck them into an existing top level menu? Which one?

• The FSE folks recently moved Templates and Template Parts away from the main wp-admin navigation and into new Gutenberg-based screens (see /themes.php?page=gutenberg-edit-site&postType=wp_template). Should we pursue the same approach for Reusable Blocks? Should we start by simply adding them to a submenu (again, which one though?) pending a refreshed screen?

While this is technically a "Nav Unification" issue, I think it's best left to Gutenberg- and Core-focused teams or the community itself.

We could easily do this on WPCOM, but then we'd be introducing a difference with Core that would generate some hard-to-maintain tech debt. Given the fact that the Reusable Block screen is accessible from three different locations in the block editor, it's hardly hidden (and yes, I understand the request here 🙂 ), and there doesn't seem to be many requests for this change (both here and in Core).

For now I'm lowering the priority to low, and removing it from Ajax's current iteration. I'll keep the issue open just in case, but IMHO the work on this should be just simply tracked in https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13390.

[mrfoxtalbot]

I agree that this should be addressed in core. Let's move the conversation there and try to prioritize that issue https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13390

[edwinho89]

35784854-hc

[annezazu]

Closing this out because, as of WordPress 6.6, there's a dedicated "Patterns" section for classic themes and a top level item for patterns for block themes.

[github-actions[bot]]

Support References

This comment is automatically generated. Please do not edit it.

• [ ] https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/reusable-blocks-6